Prizes & Awards

This category is a competition.

Audience Choice AwardAudiences cast their votes in the categories of Best Narrative, Documentary, Short Narrative, Short Doc, Minnesota Made Narrative, Minnesota Made Documentary, Minnesota Made Short Doc, and Minnesota Made Short Narrative.

Category Rules

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE 2015 FESTIVAL:1) Films completed after to July 1, 2013 are eligible for consideration for the 2015 Festival.

2) Minnesota Premieres are required of all U.S., International, and Minnesota Made Feature-length submissions. Feature-length films that have been previously publicly screened within the state of Minnesota are not eligible for submission.

3) Feature-length submissions must not have been broadcast or televised, or be publicly available in their entirety online prior to their date of exhibition in the Festival.

Please note: Short films are exempt from any premiere status and may be available online. This may, however, result in a lower priority amongst other submitted films.

4) Foreign language (non-English) submissions must be available in their original language and soundtrack with English subtitles.

5) Films that have been submitted for consideration in previous years are eligible for submission for 2015 Festival consideration only if they have undergone extensive changes and reapply as a new submission.

6) The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul reserves the right to determine eligibility of any work submitted.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:The following submission requirements must be met before a submission can be considered. Submission materials will not be returned.

1) Completed Withoutabox Submission Form (online).

2) Submission Fee. Payment is accepted via Withoutabox or via money order made out to The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul. Submission fees are waived for films submitting as Minnesota Made by the Early, Regular, and Late deadlines. No other waivers will be granted.

3) Submissions must include an online (Vimeo preferred) or DVD (Region 0 or 1) screener. Vimeo links to online screeners should be be included in the Withoutabox Cover Letter.

Please note: Changing the password to a private online screener may make the submission unviewable, and therefore disqualified. The Festival will attempt, but is under no obligation, to contact the applicant for an updated password.

4) Hard copy DVD submissions must be shipped, prepaid, and postmarked by the applicable deadline; submitted in paper sleeves (no jewel or plastic cases please); and marked in permanent ink with the following information: Film Title, Withoutabox Tracking Number, Run Time. Hard copy DVD submissions should be sent to: Attn: Submissions, MSP International Film Festival, 125 SE Main St., Ste 341, Minneapolis, MN 55414

Please note:i) Do not attach labels directly onto hard copy DVD submissions – this may render your submission unplayable.ii) It is highly advised that you test your DVD submission in a standard DVD player prior to submitting. Any unviewable DVD may be disqualified. The Festival may attempt, but is not obligated, to contact the applicant for a new copy.iii) If you wish to have your physical submissions returned you must provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your submissions materials. All other rejected submissions will be recycled in a secure manner.

REQUIREMENTS FOR FILMS SELECTED FOR EXHIBITION:1) Feature Length Films:i) Must be available for exhibition in one of the following formats: DCP (preferred), HDCam, or Blu-ray.ii) Three additional DVD copies must be immediately sent to the Festival’s offices for press requests.iii) Exhibition copies must be delivered to the Festival office by March 26, 2015.

2) Short Films:i) Must be available as DCP (preferred), ProRes, H.264, or similarly low compression/high quality format/codec to be compiled onto a digital shorts reel.ii) Files must be sent to the Festival office immediately upon notification of acceptance on a hard-drive, thumb drive, or be made available for download. The Festival does not provide an FTP site for file transfer.

3) General:i) An Electronic Press Kit with high-resolution production stills, trailers, official synopsis, filmmaker bios, promotional postcards and posters should be sent to the Festivals offices for marketing purposes.ii) Exhibition Copy Shipment: The film must be shipped prepaid, insured, and properly packaged. The Festival does not assume liability for damage to prints due to improper packaging or other reasons. All films while in our possession will be insured against loss and damage while participating in the event.iii) Ship to Mailing Address:MSP International Film Festival125 SE Main Street, Suite 341Minneapolis, MN 55414iv) The Festival reserves the right to place accepted works in the appropriate program.v) The Festival reserves the right to remove a film from the festival program for any reason or for no reason and shall not be liable for any refund or claims of any kind arising out of such removal.vi) Accepted films may be screened between 1-4 times, at the discretion of the Festival.vii) Screenings will take place at official festival venues, including, but not limited to: St. Anthony Main Theatre, Northrop Auditorium’s Best Buy Theater, and Rochester Galaxy 14 Cine.

NOTIFICATIONS:Submission notification will be sent on or around February 27, 2015.